🎒📚 Back to School Bash
Sharpen your pencils and open your notebooks—it's time to reflect! Like students returning for a new term, let’s learn from last sprint’s homework, ace our teamwork, and set goals for the next chapter. Class is in session!
Template Columns
📝 New Subjects to Start
Suggest new habits, tools, or practices we should begin adopting as part of our agile curriculum.
Base column: Start🚫 Bad Habits to Stop
Identify inefficient patterns, distractions, or ‘classroom disruptions’ we should leave behind.
Base column: Stop🎯 Star Students: Continue
Highlight the routines and teamwork that should stay on the honor roll moving forward.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
The Back to School Bash retrospective uses an academic theme to help teams identify positive changes to start, ineffective habits to stop, and successful routines to continue.
When to use this template
This format is perfect at the start of a new project phase, quarter, or after returning from a break—it helps teams refresh their approach and reset for the next sprint.
How to facilitate
Welcome everyone and introduce the Back to School Bash theme, setting an upbeat and reflective tone.
Explain each column: New Subjects to Start (innovations), Bad Habits to Stop (inefficiencies), and Star Students: Continue (successful routines).
Give team members private time to jot down their thoughts for each column and add them to the board.
Facilitate a group review, discussing items in each column to ensure shared understanding and context.
Invite the team to vote on the most important or impactful items, focusing attention on what's actionable.
Collaboratively decide on a small number of concrete actions or experiments for the next sprint, assigning owners if needed.
Wrap up by celebrating wins and acknowledging positive contributions, closing the session on an optimistic note.
Pro Tips
Link 'New Subjects to Start' directly to pain points from the last sprint for immediate relevance.
Frame 'Bad Habits to Stop' as opportunities for positive change, not blame.
Encourage specific praise in 'Star Students: Continue' to reinforce good habits and team spirit.
If participation lags, ask each person to bring one example per column to ensure input is broad.
Revisit actions from this retro at the start of your next session to build accountability.
FAQ
What if the same 'Bad Habits' keep coming up?
Work with the team to identify underlying causes, then set smaller, targeted goals for improvement. Celebrate any progress, however small.
How do I ensure 'New Subjects to Start' are realistic?
Facilitate a quick feasibility check or a fist-to-five vote to gauge team buy-in before adding new practices to your action list.
How can quieter team members contribute more?
Use anonymous input or digital sticky notes to lower participation barriers, and invite comments in follow-up discussions.
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At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective